Raise to the Authors Regarding

¶ … raise to the authors regarding the sample of individuals used for this study?

Given the relatively small size of the survey, the disproportionate emphasis on certain demographic characteristics raises questions about its validity. First of all, the study was extremely slanted in terms of gender: of the 169 employee surveys that were returned, 24.4% were derived from male responses while 75.6% were from women. Women and men may feel different levels of stress, and respond with different behaviors, based upon different types of negative stimuli. Also, the sample was drawn from a narrow range of professions, mostly from the administrative professions -- from academic and financial sectors. The personalized and hierarchical nature of the workplace in these two fields may mean there may be a greater emotive response to interpersonal stressors.

Review the limitations section of the paper (p.57). List three suggestions for the study's re-design based on concerns raised in this section and describe each of the three suggestions.

Increase the number of participants and the range of industries included in the study. This will allow for a wider demographic sampling and also a more balanced gender profile.

Do not allow the incumbent to choose the coworker included in the study dyads. To ensure that the worker is well-acquainted with the incumbent, ask the incumbent to choose ten individuals familiar with his or her work, and then randomly select a partner. It is less likely a close friend will be included in the dyad. Purely random selection is not possible, as some familiarity with the incumbent is essential, but greater randomization of choices will decrease this likelihood.

It seems as if personally asking individuals to participate increased the likelihood of responses -- following up with non-respondents, approaching members of the survey group personally beforehand, or even including incentives to participate like a free drawing of all respondents for a prize would ensure greater compliance in a wide range of industries, rather than a concentrated response. Only personally requesting individuals from several industry sectors decreases the reliability of the results, even more so than randomized and anonymous queries throughout all industries surveyed.

Discuss the implications of the study and specifically focus on the practical impact the findings might have in the workplace. You may focus on a specific workplace, such as your own, or on workplaces in general.